After months spent on the campaign trail, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour today decidedagainst entering the 2012 presidential race despite a strong history of political fund-raising.

Barbour released a statement this afternoon, in which he explained his decision.

“This has been a difficult, personal decision, and I am very grateful to my family for their total support of my going forward, had that been what I decided,” he wrote. “A candidate for president today is embracing a 10-year commitment to an all-consuming effort, to the virtual exclusion of all else. His (or her) supporters expect and deserve no less than absolute fire in the belly from their candidate. I cannot offer that with certainty, and total certainty is required.”

As with other prospective Republican presidential candidates, Barbour has spent much of the past year elevating his national profile and attempting to curry favor with potentially supportive politicians and political king-makers.

Barbour first visited Iowa in 2009 and maintained a regular presence in election-year battleground states and at numerous conservative political conferences. Along with potential candidates such as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Barbour was a featured speaker at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference.

Since 2004, Barbour has served as governor of Mississippi. He began his latest term in 2008 and also heads the Republican Governor’s Association, through which his connections to the GOP’s base run strong. Prior to taking office, Barbour was a registered lobbyist at the forerunner of lobbying firm BGR Group and worked on the staffs of former presidents George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.

Barbour’s leadership PAC — Haley’s PAC — raised more than $1 million during the 2010 election cycle and contributed $148,000 exclusively to Republican House and Senate candidates. The PAC also contributed to Republican state committees in Michigan, Iowa and New Hampshire, among other groups.

Like many prospective presidential candidates, Barbour used his leadership PAC as a vehicle for boosting his political profile while not actually running for president or formally exploring a presidential bid.

Haley’s PAC’s contributor base draws heavily from Barbour’s backyard and past employers. More than $246,000 in contributions came from Mississippi-based Zip codes, and Jackson, Miss. — the state’s capital — led all other metropolitan areas in contributions.

Barbour’s leadership PAC was also a favorite among retirees and the lobbying industry, which were ranked as its first and second biggest contributors. BGR Group — Barbour’s former lobbying firm — even contributed $18,750 to the leadership PAC.

Although these numbers are solid, Barbour’s fund-raising heft didn’t reach the levels of other potential Republican presidential front-runners, at least as far as political action committees are concerned.

Former Govs. Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin’s leadership PACs were the second and third largest during the 2010 election cycle. Each raised $9.1 million and $5.6 million, respectively, for the cycle. Romney is formally exploring a presidential run, while Palin has yet to reveal her intentions.

In announcing he won’t enter the 2012 race, Barbour joins Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) as candidates who flirted with a presidential bid but ultimately announced they would not run.

To track the nation’s 2012 presidential candidates — the confirmed, the exploring and the possible — go to OpenSecrets.org’s Banking on Becoming President section.

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